Published August 23, 2024
By Arlis Dittmer
This is the cover of the pamphlet published by the REA to informed new electricity users.
(Photo courtesy of the National Museum of American History.)
We have all heard about Thomas Edson and the incandescent light bulb which
he invented in 1879. But how could you use a light bulb if you had no electricity?
Edison’s first power station was in New York City in 1882. It was direct current
(DC) which had limitations. Along came George Westinghouse and others who set up
an alternate current (AC) power station in Niagara, New York in 1886. Throw in Nikola
Tesla who had invented a generator which could transport AC electricity over long
distances and the age of electricity was born.
Electricity requires a power source which in the early days was hydro and coal.
The looming dilemma was the divide between those who had electricity and those who
did not. Rural areas did not. Cities and towns had electricity and even Quincy had
electric streetcars by 1891.
The election of 1932 pitted Herbert Hoover against Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
While campaigning Roosevelt was appalled at the condition of rural America with many
having no running water or electricity. Upon winning the election, Roosevelt planned
large electrification projects beginning with the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1933.
In 1935, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 7037 which established the
Rural Electrification Administration (REA). Congress agreed and passed the Rural
Electrification Act in 1936. As an east Texas farmer and Speaker of the House, Sam
Rayburn was instrumental in passing that act. He knew that in the mid-1930s nine out of
ten rural homes had no electricity. The investor-owned power companies in cities and
towns were not interested in erecting power lines to scattered homes and farms in the
county due to the expense involved. But famer-owned cooperatives were interested,
and they were the ones who applied for loans through the REA.
Locally, both the Adams County Electric Cooperative in Golden and the Western
Illinois Electrical Cooperative in Carthage serving Hancock County began in 1938. By
the end of 1938, the Adams County co-op had 1200 members.
Both groups held meetings and told farmers how to sign up for power by
becoming members of the co-ops. To build lines, the co-op had to ask permission of
land owners, and county and state authorities. The December 11, 1938 Quincy Herald
Whig reported, “Permission was received Saturday, from the state highway department
for the Co-op association to build lines along the slab roads in the county. Permission to
build along state aid roads was granted by Adams County authorities some time ago
and now that the state has given the electric Co-op association the privilege of placing
poles along the highway, work can go on faster… .”
The process of getting electricity to the rural homes involved the cooperation of
friends and neighbors. A route was chosen when enough famers on a route wanted
electricity. Loans would be requested from the REA for that route. Initially the Adams
County Co-op planned to build 200 miles and requested a loan of $200,000.
Unexpectedly and much to their delight, the loan was made for $400,000 allowing up to
400 miles of power lines to be constructed. When the final approval came from
Washington, a call for bids was advertised. In Adams County, construction work began
in late summer of 1938 and many rural homes hoped to have electricity by
Thanksgiving. Additional lines would be built when enough farmers had joined the Co-
op. A map would then be drawn and funds requested from the REA. The Co-op had 90
days to decide to build these extensions. The original build was 400 miles of power
lines. Dues to the Co-op were $5.00 and the family had to pledge to use at least $3.50
worth of electric current per month. Loans would be paid over a 20-year period with
interest rates below 3%.
Max Weinberg, a Quincy lawyer originally from Augusta, Illinois, was the attorney
for the Co-op and also for the Hancock County organization. George Simpson was the
project engineer. Mr. Simpson was quoted in the July 22, 1938 Quincy Herald Whig,
“Any man whose home is not now on the routes of the projected lines, … and who
wants electricity, should get busy and get his neighbors to join him in asking for
extensions. Extensions will be built when the time for extension to be made serve
groups, rather than a few farms.”
After a meeting held in Springfield with state and national officers of the REA, the
August 5, 1938 Quincy Herald Whig reported, “ The national officers are greatly pleased
with the Adams County Electric Co-Op association because of the large number of
members it has and because of the prosperity of the rural regions in this county that will
be served.”
Frequently telephone poles had to be moved for the power lines and substations
had to be built. One sub station near Ursa was delayed as the landowner was serving in
a mission station in Tanana Alaska, located on the Yukon River and still a town today.
Letters and wires were sent, radios were used, and the December 9, 1938, Quincy
Herald Whig said, “Mr. Weinberg has an idea that it is probable that his message and
the reply was handled by dog teams somewhere between Tanana and Fairbanks.”
Once the farm was connected to the power lines, the families needed to learn
how to use electricity. Born on a farm in southern Illinois without electricity and a
graduate of the University of Illinois College of Agriculture, Louisan Mamer, was hired as
an REA advisor. She traveled around the country showing folks how to operate
appliances, cook, and do household chores with electricity. She and others like her used
tents for their presentations. The tents became known as The REA Circus. According to
the August 26, 1939 Quincy Herald Whig, the “electric show” had demonstrations all
day and into the evening with food provided by an “all electric lunch stand.”
World War II interrupted much of the rural electrification work. Fortunately for
farmers the work was resumed after 1945. By 1959, 90% of farm homes were
electrified.
Arlis Dittmer is a retired health science librarian and former president of the Historical Society
of Quincy and Adams County. During her years with Blessing Health System, she became interested in medical and
nursing history—both topics frequently overlooked in history.
Sources
“$400,00 Allotted For Co-Operative Electric Project.” Quincy Herald Whig, July 24,
1938, 16.
“Actual Building of Rural Lines May Start Soon.” Quincy Herald Whig, August 5,
1938,12.
“Await Allocation of Money To Ask Power Line Bids.” Quincy Herald Whig, July 22,
1938, 12.
About AEC. Adams County Electric Cooperative. About AEC – Adams Electric
Cooperative
Anderson, Paul E. Sam Reyburn and Rural Electrification. Sam Rayburn and Rural
Electrification | East Texas History
“Chicago Firm is Given Contract for 500 Meters. Quincy Herald Whig, December 11,
1938. 2.
The Electric Cooperative Story. The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
(NRECA). History – America's Electric Cooperatives
“Electric Show Will Be Held At Florance.” Quincy Herald Whig, August 26, 1939, 3.
O.K. From Alaska Speeds Building of Electric Line. Quincy Herald Whig, December 9,
1938, 12.
“Tell Farmers About Co-Op Electric Plan.” Quincy Herald Whig, June 6, 1938, 10.
Wallace, Harold D. Jr. Power from the people: Rural Electrification brought more than
lights | National Museum of American History (si.edu)
Western Illinois Electrical Coop. Customer Portal (wiec.net)
